On the question of high oil consumption: immediate response: use 20w50 if
you are not already doing so; mid-term - check the compression on all four
cylinders; there is a method that would help determine if a) the valves
are bad and b) the rings are bad when doing the compression check. If you
are pushing out blue smoke this is a sure sign of burning oil - best bet
run the engine until it drops. If the valves and rings are bad -consider a
rebuild from GEX or similar make (about 1500.00).

If you are LEAKING oil then there are numerous possibilities: cooler; oil
seal; push rod tubes. All these are easily determined by running the
engine and checking the location of the oil leak.

My guess is that on an engine of this age, the former problem is more
likely. We bought an 82 engine of similar vintage and with compression
differences across all four cylinders of at least 30 psi. Since we wanted
a reliable engine to drive long distance we  opted to replace the motor
ourselves-not a difficult job- . In your case if it is a commuter and you
can be assured of a tow home in an emergency, go with it until you are
putting in enough oil on a weekly basis to justify engine replacement.

In our case the previous owner was putting in a 1 litre of oil per fill
up....cheaper than replacing the motor over the short term - DC

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David Carment
School of International Affairs
Carleton University
Ottawa, Ontario
K1S 5B6
voice - (613) 788-2600-6662
fax - (613) 788-2889
Email address: dcarment@ccs.carleton.ca
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